Mail-crane.



PATENTED SEPT. 1, 1908.

No. 897,268.' J. BoUR.

MAH. CRANE. APPLICATION FILED JN. 22, 1908.

Mil" the angled portionof the locking arm 5.

UNITED s'TATEs PATENT oEEioE.

JOHN BOUR, OF SEDALIA, MISSOURI.

MAIL-CRANE'.

To all whom it 'may concern:

Be it known that I, JOI-IN BO'UR, a citizen of the United States, residing in Sedalia, in the county of Pettis and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Mail-Cranes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a mail crane and is an improvement upon the mail crane for which Letters Patent were granted to me September 3, 1907, No. 865,292.

The improvement consists in substituting for the electro magnet a pivoted armature shown and described in this patent, of a more simple locking device and a tripping mechanism positively actuated by a shoe carried -by the engine truck.

In the accompanying drawings-Figure 1 is a perspective view partly broken away' showing my complete device. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of my locking and releasing mechanism, adjacent and cooperating parts being shown in section. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the shoe carried by the engine truck, portion of said truck being shown in outline and in section.

In these drawings 1 represents a housing, 2 a rotatable post and 3 a mail crane all of which are described in detail in the patent above referred to. This post is also provided with a coil spring 4 which is wound up when the crane is thrown into the position shown in Fig. 1 and which tends to rotate the post so as to throw the mail crane in a direction transverse to the track. This tendency is restrained normally by a locking arm 5 which has an angle portion 6 which hooks over a fixed block 7 all arranged within the housing 1. To trip the arm 5 and lift it out of engagement with the block 7 I employ a pivoted vertically extending arm 8 mounted in a suitable open casing 9 adjacent the track the lower end of which is formed into a foot portion 1.0 which bears cam-like upon the inner end of a pivoted lever 11, the other end of the lever bearing upon the under face of In the patent above referred to I provide a roller which was carried by a hinge support, which support was secured to a part of an engine truck. The same construction is used by me with the exception that in' place of the roller I substitute a wedge-shaped shoe 12 which shoe is carried by a plate 13 hinged in any desired manner to the truck, and which when not in use may be lifted up Specication'of Letters Patent.

Application filed. January 22, 1908.

Patented Sept. 1, 1908.

Serial No. I112,166.

and locked by a padlock to a hook 14 shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 and also forming a part of my original invention. Spring 15 is placed beneath the outer end of the lever 11.

The operation of the improved parts is as follows As the engine reaches a point opposite the casing 1 the shoe 12 willstrike the arm 8 and will throw it into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. This depresses the outer end of the lever 11 and lifts the inner end thus lifting the angle portion 6 of the arm 5 out of engagement with the block 7. The arm 5 being freed the spring 4 can throw the post 2 back to its original position, swinging the crane 3 into a position at right angles to the track. As soon as the shoe 12 has passed the arm 8 the spring 15 returns the arm 8 .and the lever 11 back to their normal position.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In combination with arotatablepost having an operating spring wound thereabout, an angle arm connected to said post, a fixed block engaged by the arm, a pivoted lever the inner end of which engages the angled portion of said arm, a second arm having a camfoot in engagement with the outer end of the lever and means carried by rolling stock to a railroad for engaging the second mentioned arm and depressing the outer end of the lever.

2. In combination with a mail crane having a rotatable spring winding post, of locking means carried by said post, a pivoted lever having one end in engagement with said locking means, a spring under the other end of the lever, and means operated by passage of a train for depressing the outer end of said lever.

3. A device of the kind described comprising a combination with a spring operating post, an arm carried by said post, a block adapted to be engaged by the arm locking the post against rotation, a lever engaging the under side of the free end portion of the arm, a spring under the other end ofthe lever, a second pivoted arm arranged adjacent the track and having a cam-foot, and means carried by an engine for swinging said arm and depressing the outer end of the lever.

JOHN BOUR.

Witnesses: l

OnAs. O. EVANS, L. I. ANDREWS. 

